Simple
by redex
Summary: BryanOC. Bryan goes to live in a group home. How one person can influence the lives of those around them. [dead]
1. One new Home

A bryan/oc fic for all of yous.  It kind of came out of no where, so I'm not sure if I'm going to continue it, but I like it. ^-^ I hope you like it too.

~`~,*|*`~,~

A scowling teen stood in front of a large older house.  It was very quaint with a metal fence circling it as far as he could see, a door with a path leading from it to the house.  There was a porch on the front and a few well-worn chairs facing the snow-studded front lawn.

He hated it already.

With a sigh he stepped up to the fence door and pushed down on the latch.  He nudged it open with his hip, adjusting the large duffel bag on his shoulder.  Walking up to the large wooden door he wondered how someone could care for several children and still own such a revoltingly _pretty_ house.  It was old – Victorian he guessed – and it would have required quite a bit of up keeping. 

His hand hovered over the bell and decided instead to knock.  Just to see if they were the type to apologize for it not working.  After doing so, sharply and hard, he stood with his weight on his right leg, wondering if, perhaps, they were gone out and he wouldn't have to come.

Footsteps dissolved his one of his small and rare fantasies and arrived at the door.  He let out a sigh.  Fate didn't like him.

A first, inside door opened and then the heavier outside door.  A teen maybe his age held the heavy door open and looked at him appraisingly.  Shaggy black hair with white streaks in it fell in front of the boys half-closed eyes, giving him a sleepy look.

"Zac don't hold the fuckin door open, you're freezing us out!!"

The kid looked back inside towards the voices and then looked back at the newcomer.

"What do you want?" he said slowly and as though with great effort.

"Is this the group house?" he asked stiffly, wondering who was in charge around here.

"Yes," the kid answered warily.

"Can I talk to the parents?"

The kid opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a girl coming behind him.  "I thought I told you to shut the bloody door!"

Her dark eyes narrowed as she glared at him.

"Now what do you want?" she growled with an irritableness that the pale-haired teen supposed was supposed to scare him.  _Some people._

"Where are Mr. and Mrs. Kay?" he asked, his bored tone hiding his growing annoyance.

His answer was cut off yet again by another girl.  She was dressed rather haphazardly and was wearing lots of obvious make-up.

"What does he want?" she asked the other girl.

"He wants to see the parents," she replied as though he wasn't even there.  He felt his eye twitch in annoyance as the little kid slipped out under the arguing girls and away.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the grip on his beyblade in his pocket was becoming painfully tight.

Another group of footsteps approached and the girls fell into a sulky silence as they saw who it was.

"What are you _doing_?" she hissed at the two girls, slipping by them to stare him in the face.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked politely, shooting a glare at the teenage girls behind her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kay," he repeated, happy to find someone was intelligent in this idiot house.

"Yeah, they live here.  Do you want to come in and I'll go get them?  What's your name?"

Bryan stepped hesitantly forward and crossed over the doorstep.  The two girls moved away, muttering to each other, and shooting him glances.

"My name's Bryan Vladmir," he answered, following the tall raven-haired girl further into the house.  She ushered him into a living room that looked to be in too good shape to be used commonly.

"Alright Bryan, you can sit down and I'll be back in a sec."

She disappeared back through the door and Bryan wondered mildly if he would be mobbed by those girls again.  He shuddered.  If he had to live with them 24/7, someone was going to die.

Fortunately for both parties, no one interrupted him and he sat in silence, waiting for his hosts in a big wing-backed chair with his bag lying on the carpet near his feet.  

He was prepared to pick it up in a moments notice, he didn't know if he was even allowed shoes on this floor.  His experience with a new place was: expect more rules than can be rationally explained and be prepared to follow them.

A dark-haired woman entered the room, her hair up in a messy bun that she patted nervously as she entered.  She was dressed in a sort of careful casual.  Not jeans and a t-shirt, but not formal either.

He rose automatically to meet her and extended a hand.  She shook his hand in a friendly manner and then brought an irritable scowl to Bryan's face as she refused to let go of his hand.  He gritted his teeth and let it go.

"Hello, you must be the new boarder we've been expecting.  I'm Mary Kay, you can call me Mary or mother or even mom if you'd like."  

Bryan quickly decided on Mary.

"My husband isn't here right now but you can meet him at supper.  I won't bother explaining how everything works here now, but I'll make sure you meet everyone tonight at our family discussion time."

Bryan warily asked, "How often is this discussion time?"

"Every night," the lady chirped, while Bryan looked at her in horror.  They expected him to stay in a family group _every single night_ until next year?!

Ignoring or not noticing the look on Bryan's face at that idea, Mary said:  "Well, I'll get someone to show you to our room.  You'll be sharing a bathroom with our other boy, Zackary.  He has the room adjoining yours and I'm sure if you asked him anything he would be sure to help."

Bryan thought she must be crazy to think that that mouse of a kid would actually try and make friends with him.  And as for those two girls... well, they better stay out of his way.

~`~,*|*`~,~

Bryan put another forkful of spaghetti in his mouth and watched carefully all the other occupants of the round table.  Not that it would be any other shape, with these idiot do-gooders.

He had just met the father, a slightly balding man with thin wire glasses.  He had a perpetual smile on and looked like the psychiatrist Bryan had first gone to.  "Well," he decided,"they all act the same, why shouldn't they all look the same?"

So that ever-conspiring head of the BBA had stuck him in a group-of-weirdoes home with two jackass psychologists to take care of him for a year or more.  Who on earth did he think he was?

Bryan growled softly and speared a meatball.  He did not like this one bit.  To make it worse, when he looked up he saw that slutty girl from before giving him a Look.  Un.Hunh. Like he would go anywhere near that... _thing_.

"Would you like to share your thoughts, Bryan?"

He looked up to see the woman smiling at him in what might have been an encouraging way, except for the fact that Bryan felt like throwing up from her sweetness.

"No," he grunted, turning back to his food.

The woman made a disapproving noise, but decided not to press him.  It _was_ only his first day after all.  He would get used to it and maybe she could get him to open up a little bit more tonight at the meeting.

Bryan was deciding otherwise.

~`~,*|*`~,~

Bryan eyed the girl sitting next to him discreetly and when receiving another one of those "Looks" he promptly stood up and switched chairs.  The girl was looking rather crestfallen, but not discouraged, when the two house-parents came into the same room he had been led to this afternoon.

"Alright kids, settle down," Mary chirped with her indefatigable, cheery smile.  She sent a special smile towards her newest family member, but Bryan was looking conveniently away.

Not discouraged, she turned back to the group currently arguing in low tones in front of her.

Her husband took his regular seat, the one Bryan had chosen on his first arrival and she sat down beside him.

"So kids," the man said in his usual slow condescending tone.  "I think we all know we have a new visitor.  His name's Bryan and he's from Russia."

The said beyblader found his eye twitching from the condescending tone in the psychiatrist's tone.  Thank god he wouldn't see him very often, apparently.

"So who would like to go first in the introductions?  I think you will, Mary?"

Bryan kept his face impassive as the two parents told some superficial things about themselves.  The father's name was Ethan.

Next the slut eagerly raised her hand to speak.

"Hi, I'm Meredith," she said in an obviously false sweet tone, fluttering her eyelashes. "I like movies and money," she giggled, "and guys."

Bryan could hear the unspoken words clearly: "Like you."

He heard a sigh of disapproval and looked towards the noise.  The girl who had initially greeted him rolled her eyes expressively from where the parents couldn't see her.

He felt his lips twitch slightly in a smirk and he carefully turned his eyes to the next person in the line.

"I'm Mel.  I don't like guys, they're all assholes."  After that curt intro, she pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one.

"Melanie, put that out!" Ethan chided angrily, reaching over to pull the stick out of her grasp.  She growled at him and pulled out another.

He heard that sigh again, and a smirk twisted his lips.  Living with these people would be interesting.

The next person was the little guy that had opened the door first.  He was hidden deep in the cushions of an over sized chair and didn't look like he was entirely here.

Bryan heard him mumble something at the pressing of the father and then, after a mini-lecture to talk louder that sounded much worn, he said only slightly louder: "I'm Zac and I like guitars."

Bryan now turned his eyes to the girl that had proved to be the only "normal" person in this house.  

"I'm Alexandria, call me Alex and I like to read and do "boring" things" she said in a rather bored tone.  

The pop of a gum bubble punctuated the end of her introduction and Bryan looked at the parents for confirmation of the end of this excruciating period.

The father stood up and clapped his hands cheerfully.  "Alright you may go now," he said, but the words were barely out of his mouth before the two girls were fighting into the hallway and away about television.

Zac headed, silent and as noticeable as a ghost, up the stairs, to his room, Bryan guessed.  The remaining girl, Alex, was curled up in the chair Zac had vacated with a book.

Bryan walked up the stairs and up another flight to his and Zac's rooms.  He heard soft music playing in his neighbor's room, but ignored it.  Sitting down on his bed he gazed around the room and sighed.

"A new life and new people.  Horrible parents, horrible siblings.  Not that much of an improvement if you ask me."

~`~,*|*`~,~

So, what think you, dear readers? Criticism is a Very Good Thing, so go ahead. Tell me what you liked/didn't like. Go! *shoves readers in direction of review button*


	2. Out a little more

Yey! Readers! 

Uh, one important note:

I renamed the daughter.  Formerly Alex, now Meg. There you go.

To some of my lovely reviewers…(and if you're not here, I'm not ignoring you, I just don't have anything to say! ^^; .)

artemis347: bad habits? Smoking? Well, maybe. Depends on how we go!

Jaggan: oohh, thankies! Please do try and review, otherwise I don't know if you still like it or not! And I am trying to keep him in character, but it's very hard! :P

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I read every one, promise!  I love getting reviews!

Disclaimer: Red doesn't own beyblade, natch. However she does own the multitude of OCs you will see in here. Or…she thinks she does. ^^;

~`~,*|*`~,~

Bryan tapped his pencil on his desk, a bored look on his face.  The geography teacher was droning on about sedimentary rocks (something the Russian was sure would never come up in "real life") and Bryan was taking short notes in his book.  It was a rather automatic thing to do; he really wasn't listening.

It was last period and Friday.  That meant as soon as he got ho...no. not home.  **_Back to the house_ he would have to do his homework under the watchful eyes of his superiors.  _Because they couldn't have someone missing a Friday night activity.  _**

He rolled his eyes just as the bell went.  Scooping up his notes and textbook, he shoved them haphazardly into his bag and shoved his way out of the classroom out towards his locker.

_God! Sometimes I think school is as close to hell as you can get!_

~~

The fair-haired Russian dumped his book bag on the floor near the kitchen table and headed immediately for the shelves where the food was.

He heard the women come in and sit down at the table; their loud chatter grating on his nerves.  He gave up trying to find something to eat and decided he didn't want to have to sit with them in the kitchen anyways.

He grabbed his book bag and stalked back out of the room, heading upstairs to his room.  He ran over his homework in his mind, deciding which he was going to do and the other crap that wasn't worth his time.  

He was lost in this pensiveness when he bumped into someone who was heading down the stairs and felt his heart jump as he lost his balance for a fraction of a section.

It was the little kid, Zac.  The domino-haired boy whispered a quick apology, an uncomfortable blush heating his cheeks, before quickly stepping passed Bryan.

The surly teen glared at him and kept going upstairs.  _Some people._

~~

Bryan was squished uncomfortably between the kid and Alex, the smart one.  

He didn't have as hard a time keeping their names straight as the parents seemed to think he would.  The black (_pardon me, **colored**_) feminist was Rita, the annoying slut was Meredith, the smart one (_the parent's **real** kid_) was Meg, and the quiet kid was Zac.

He found he couldn't fold his arms in the close quarters without shoving someone with his elbows so he was contemplating either shoving them out of the way, sitting on the floor or just not crossing his arms for once when the other two girls appeared, already arguing over what movie they were going to watch.

Mary walked in behind them and smiled benevolently, as if the teenagers were just little children.  Bryan's teeth grated.

"So, what movie are we watching tonight?" the woman asked, evidently not knowing teenagers as well as she thought.  

Three different answers were called out and then a squabble between the females ensued, involving Meg getting off the couch to go to the cabinet holding all of the family's equipment.

The woman ignored the three girls as they argued over movies and turned to the two boys who evidently didn't care.

"So, boys, would you like to see anything in particular?"

There was no response for a moment and then Zac said: "I don't mind whatever we watch."

"Well, you must have an opinion, Zachary."

The kid only shook his head silently so the woman turned to Bryan.

"So, Bryan, as the new one here, what would _you_ like to watch?"

Bryan frowned, thinking over this offer.  Seeing as he was planning to sleep through anything they brought up (unless by some miracle they weren't all into crap movies), but given a choice he might as well say something.

"…Igby Goes Down" he said finally.

Silence reigned after this catastrophic event.  Bryan had actually offered some example of an _opinion._  He could almost hear their thoughts.

After a few seconds, the two girls started complaining to the elder woman about his choice, but the third just looked at him in interest.  Mrs. Kay walked over to the cabinet and looked around for a moment.

"I don't think we have it, sorry Bryan."

"That's fine," he muttered under the loud voices of the other two girls.

Meg slipped down beside him again, an annoyed look on her face as the other girls decided on some stupid chick-flick.  She was careful not to touch him.  Evidently she had learnt from his many attempts at distancing himself from this crowd of losers.

When everyone was settled and the movie was starting up, Bryan heard her whisper, evidently to him: "I've seen that movie before, it was good.  I'd rather see that again than this crap."

Bryan was mildly surprised, he had never heard the goody-goody swear before, but shrugged it off.  Not everyone was the same in front of adults as they were with people their own age. 

He leant back in the comfortable couch and let his head rest on the back.  This was very, _very annoying, but then again he could get some sleep now and stay up tonight..._

~~

Bryan dropped silently to the ground, his heavy boots muffled by the thick lawn.  Looking around to make sure no one had noticed his escape; he headed around the back of the house and climbed over the small fence.

He snuck through another house's lawn and stepped onto the street, feeling very liberated.  Confident he was completely out of his house-parent's over-protective clutches, he started striding down the sidewalk towards the centre of town.

~~

"Bryan, hey." 

The ashen-haired teen spun towards the sound and smirked as he was pulled into a rough hug.

"Hey, Tala, how are you?"

Bryan stepped back to face the red-haired and followed him to a table.

"Well, as good as it's going to get, I guess," Tala replied, sliding into a seat.

"Yeah, me too.  Bloody house is populated with idiots."

Tala sighed and pushed the seat back onto two legs.

"Yeah, I'm staying with this girl and her mother on the other side of town."

Bryan waved a hand for a waitress and ordered a coffee for them both.  He wasn't planning on going back to that hell hole any time tonight.

~~

The surly pale-haired teen jumped the final fence and snuck to the patio.  He had left the door open after dinner that night, he prayed the adults weren't of the paranoid sort and had gone around and locked everything.  He gently but firmly tested the door, pulling the handle gently.  It caught for a moment, but then slid silently open.  Bryan grinned and slipped in the crack, noiseless as an assassin. _Actually, they should be paranoid. Anyone could come along and get in just as easily as I did. Something to remember when I get out of this place..._

Bryan was about to make the final step onto his floor when he spotted a flash of movement at the end of the corridor.  _That kid…_

Bryan growled under his breath and stalked down the hallway towards the other door.  It was open a crack, but Bryan ignored the many "Stay out, private!" signs and pushed the door open.

The kid was in bed doing a very bad imitation of sleeping.  Bryan growled and walked up to the bed.  He reached down to the covers and grabbed the front of the shirt coming out from under them.  When he pulled it, the kid's eyes opened wide and he looked terrified.  Bryan dragged him up into a seated position and snapped, "You didn't see me come in. No one will find out this. Got it?"

Zac nodded, the fear on his face suddenly giving Bryan a shiver and he dropped the kid back onto the bed.

He slipped back into his room unnoticed and walked over to the window, shutting it carefully.  _He looked too scared to be normal…  Why is he in this hell-hole anyways? _

As Bryan slipped into his bed he had a sudden flash of sympathy. _Poor kid._

~`~,*|*`~,~

Tuhduh! Yes, I know. Took me long enough. About a month. ^^; 

School is such a hassle.  So now if you've read Fallen from Grace, you caught the cross-over. If not, it doesn't matter; it doesn't interfere with the plot, such as it is.  So I hope you enjoyed this, it'll probably be another month before I update again. -_-;

Please don't be mad. Tell me what you think. Review. ^^


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